2014.01.13. - Yorktown Heights, NY - A bank of monitors used at the IBM research facility in Yorktown Heights is part of the research into making more accurate solar power forecasts. Major government-funded research programs around the country are developing increasingly accurate models to forecast solar power output. Unlike traditional sources of power, solar installations are hard to predict and largely invisible to engineers responsible for maintaining balanced levels of power on the region's electric grid. As the solar sources make up an larger slice of power generation in New England, the importance of knowing solar output levels is increasingly vital. In Yorktown Heights, N.Y., researchers at IBM are leveraging technology that years ago sent a the robot Watson onto Jeopardy! to develop advanced forecasts for solar output. The solar project is being called "Watt Sun." Started in March, the program aimed to improve the accuracy of solar forecasts by 33 percent. In less than a year, the team has achieved 50 percent improvement. You will meet with Dr. Hendrik F. Hamann, the project lead on the Watt Sun program, in his office at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. His lab for the project has four large monitors that project weather data and expected solar output from sites around the country. Please shoot some video of Dr. Hamann and ask him why the program is being a success. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com